The wash section of this invention is embodied in an air cleaning device including additionally a settling tank section, a moisture eliminator section and an air suction fan section arranged substantially contiguous to each other (although the wash section and the suction fan section can each be arranged in spaced apart relationship from the other two sections of the device). An input contaminated air stream is drawn through the wash section and the settling tank and moisture eliminator sections, and from the latter into the air suction fan section from which clean air is discharged. The wash section may be conjunctively arranged with the moisture eliminator section and the settling tank section or it may be somewhat removed therefrom, so long as a conduit or passageway is provided for the wash liquid-charged air stream between the wash section and the settling tank and moisture eliminator sections of the device.
Reference is made to Evans et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,811,252, issued May 21, 1974 for "Air Cleaning Device" for a full description of the apparatus in which the wash section of the instant disclosure is embodied. The improvement disclosed and claimed herein relates solely to the wash section of the device.
It has been found that the merit of the air cleaning device disclosed in the aforementioned patent resided in part in generating substantial turbulence of wash liquid and input air stream in the wash section. Such turbulence was created by arranging a plurality of removable adjustable baffle members in vertically staggered relationship on opposite facing walls of the wash section, forming a tortuous path therethrough. To improve such turbulence and increase the number of moisture droplets for entrapment of solid particles in the air stream, the instant invention employs only a pair of baffle members arranged in spaced apart relationship on opposite facing walls of the wash section to form a venturi passage therebetween. The baffle members extend from one lateral side wall to the other side wall of the chamber. A further improvement in the wash section over that previously disclosed involves discharging wash liquid under pressure from a chamber extending the width of the wash section onto a deflecting baffle plate, whereby the wash liquid issues across the entire width of the wash section from one side edge to the other in substantially a planar sheet of liquid to meet the contaminated input air stream.
Each of the two venturi-forming baffle members are supported upon brackets secured to the walls of the wash section and can be adjustably and removably positioned to increase or decrease the venturi opening therebetween. Thus, the turbulence earlier found to be so meritorious in removing particulate matter from the input air stream is now further increased by the venturi of this invention.
The structural and functional features and relationships of the remaining sections associated with and connected to the wash section remain substantially the same as those disclosed in the aforesaid Letters Patent, and a detailed description of those sections will be found therein. A general description of these sections is found hereinbelow.